Only Google can run Chrome, company's browser chief tells judge

Google is the lone institution that tin connection the level of features and functionality that its fashionable Chrome web browser has today, fixed its “interdependencies” connected different parts of the Alphabet Inc. unit, the caput of Chrome testified.

“Chrome contiguous represents 17 years of collaboration betwixt the Chrome people” and the remainder of Google, Parisa Tabriz, the browser’s wide manager, said Friday arsenic portion of the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit successful Washington national court. “Trying to disentangle that is unprecedented.”

Some of the product’s features, specified arsenic its harmless browsing mode oregon a strategy that notifies users if their password has been compromised, trust connected shared Google infrastructure not solely wrong Chrome’s purview, she said.

“I don’t deliberation it could beryllium recreated,” she added.

Search Market

Tabriz testified for respective hours earlier Judge Amit Mehta, who is overseeing a three-week proceeding connected what changes Google indispensable marque to its concern practices aft helium recovered past twelvemonth that the institution illegally monopolized the hunt market.

The Justice Department has asked that Google beryllium forced to merchantability its Chrome browser and stock immoderate of the information it collects to make its hunt results. It has besides asked Mehta to prohibition Google from paying for hunt motor defaults. That projected prohibition would use to Google’s AI products, including Gemini, which the authorities says were aided by the company’s amerciable monopoly successful search.

Google’s Chrome is the company’s proprietary browser, the astir fashionable 1 successful the satellite utilized by an estimated 66% of radical globally arsenic of March, according to Statcounter. The browser is based connected the open-source Chromium Project.

Chromium was created by Google, but it accepts method contributions from different companies and has enactment from Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp. and the Linux Foundation, among others.

Earlier Friday, James Mickens, a machine subject adept for the Justice Department, said Google could easy transportation ownership of Chrome to different institution without breaking its functionality.

Divestiture ‘Feasible’

“The divestiture of Chrome is feasible from a method perspective,” said Mickens, a machine subject prof astatine Harvard University. “It would beryllium feasible to transportation ownership and not interruption excessively much.”

Mickens antecedently served arsenic an adept for Fortnite-maker Epic Games Inc. successful its antitrust lawsuit against Google implicit the Android ecosystem. Even without Chrome, Google would inactive person incentives to support contributing exertion to Chromium, the open-source task that underlies its browser and that of respective rivals, Mickens said.

Google’s Android smartphone operating strategy besides makes usage of immoderate aspects of Chromium to guarantee that web pages load decently connected phones, helium said.

“Google has a information to marque definite the root codification is well-maintained,” Mickens said of Chromium.

But Tabriz formed uncertainty connected that idea. Google has contributed much than 90% of the codification for Chromium since 2015, she said.

“Google invests hundreds of millions of dollars into Chromium,” she said, estimating that 1,000 engineers wrong her part person contributed to the project. Other companies “are not contributing present successful immoderate meaningful way.”

AI integrations

Google has been moving to adhd artificial quality to the Chrome browser, Tabriz said. Users tin present adhd extensions for OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Perplexity AI to Chrome oregon alteration the browser settings to marque it easier to hunt utilizing immoderate AI models. But she acknowledged that Gemini is presently acceptable arsenic the default AI adjunct to usage wrong Chrome.

“Most browsers are experimenting with AI and launching features,” she said, noting that Microsoft has integrated its AI Copilot into its hunt motor Bing and browser Edge.

In interior documents, Google said it intends to make Chrome into an “agentic browser,” which incorporates AI agents to automate tasks and execute actions specified arsenic filling retired forms, conducting probe oregon shopping.

“We envision a aboriginal of aggregate agents, wherever Chrome integrates profoundly with Gemini arsenic a superior cause and 1 we’ll prioritize and alteration users to prosecute with aggregate 3P agents connected the web successful some user and endeavor settings,” Tabriz wrote successful a 2024 email.

Nylen writes for Bloomberg